1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever-type connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known lever-type connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,560 and includes male and female housings that are connectable with one another. A lever is mounted rotatably on the male housing and is formed with a cam groove. The female housing has a cam pin that is displaced along the cam groove as the lever is rotated for pulling the male and female housings together.
The male and female housings and the lever are molded at a molding site and are transported to an assembling site. The housings are connected at the assembly site with the lever mounted at the initial position on the male housing. However, the lever at the initial position projects from the male housing. Thus, there is a possibility that the lever will deform or break due to interference of another part with the projecting portion.
Consideration has been given to mounting the lever at a shelter position where a projecting amount of the lever from the male housing is small. Deformation of the lever and other undesired events are avoided if the lever is placed at the shelter position on the male housing before transportation. The lever is returned to the initial position after transportation to the assembling site so that the male and female housings can be connected.
Two holding means need to be provided between the lever and the housing to hold the lever respectively at the shelter position and the initial position. This leads to a more complicated construction of the connector.
The known lever has a resilient piece that engages an engaging portion on the male housing to hold the lever at the initial position. The resilient piece is deformed by a disengaging portion on the female housing and disengages from the engaging portion as the housings are connected.
The resilient piece is formed by a cut in the plate-shaped lever. However, it is difficult to prevent excessive deformation of the resilient piece, and the resilient piece may be damaged by another part during transportation.
Excessive deformation of the resilient piece could be prevented by: providing the resilient piece on the housing instead of on the lever; making the resilient piece deformable inwardly; and providing a receiving portion at a back side of the resilient piece. If the resilient piece is deformable inwardly, it is necessary to: make the housing with the resilient piece fit into a mating housing; provide a disengaging portion on an inner wall of the mating housing; and press the resilient piece in with the disengaging portion to disengage the resilient piece from the lever during connection of the housings.
The lever may open slightly outward due to a restoring force of the resilient piece when the lever rotates beyond the resilient piece that has been deformed by the disengaging portion. The open portion of the outwardly open lever interferes with the inner surface of the mating housing to hinder the rotation of the lever. As a result, the lever may not rotate smoothly.
The invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object is to provide a simple connector with improved overall operability.
The invention relates to a connector with a housing that is connectable with a mating housing. A movable member is mounted on the housing for movement between initial and end positions. The movable member has a cam groove that can engage a cam pin on the mating housing. The housings can be connected or separated by displacing the cam pin along the cam groove as the movable member is moved between the initial and end positions. An initial position holding means is provided for holding the movable member at the initial position, and a shelter position holding means is provided for holding the movable member at a shelter position. A projecting amount of the movable member from the outer surface of the housing at the shelter position is less than at the initial position. Additionally, the initial position holding means and the shelter position holding means are part of a common element. Accordingly, the construction of the connector is simplified.
The connector may be a lever-type connector, and the movable member may be a lever rotatably mounted on the housing. Thus, the housings are connected or separated by displacing the cam pin along the cam groove as the lever is rotated from the initial position toward the end position.
The lever may be mounted on the housing at the shelter position before the housing and the lever are transported to an assembling site. Accordingly, the lever is not likely to be damaged by interference with other parts during transportation. The lever may be moved from the shelter position to the initial position after the connector has been transported to the assembling site. The housings subsequently are connected to each other.
The common element for the initial position holding means and the shelter position holding means may comprise a deformable resilient piece integrally or unitarily formed with the housing. The lever is held at the initial position and the shelter position by engaging the resilient piece with an initial position engaging portion and a shelter position engaging portion, respectively.
Resilient pieces may be on opposite sides of the housing and may be resiliently deformable inwardly. Thus, the resilient pieces can be pressed from outer sides by fingers and can be deformed inwardly for disengagement from the initial position engaging portion. The lever then can be rotated easily from the initial position to the shelter position for transportation.
The initial position engaging portion may be near an outer end of a trace of movement of the movable member. Thus, a sufficient holding force for the movable member can be ensured and the movable member can be held securely at the initial position.
At least one of the resilient piece and the shelter position engaging portion has a slanted disengagement guiding surface to disengage the resilient piece from the shelter position engaging portion when a force of at least a specified magnitude acts on the movable member to move the movable member toward the initial position. Thus, the movable member is semi-locked at the shelter position, and can be returned easily from the shelter position to the initial position after transportation to the assembling site.
The resilient piece may comprise a reinforcing projection that projects opposite from a deforming direction of the resilient piece and that has a slanted surface with an inclination substantially continuous with the disengagement guiding surface. As a result, the holding force for the movable member is reinforced without degrading the movement operability of the movable member.
The shelter position and the end position of the movable member preferably are identical, and the movable member can be held at the shelter position and the end position by the shelter position holding means.
A detection sound creating means preferably is provided for creating a detection sound as the movable member strikes the housing. Thus, the movable member is not likely to be left at an intermediate position.
The housing may comprise at least one excessive deformation preventing means for preventing excessive deformation of the resilient piece. Accordingly, the resilient piece is not likely to be damaged even if other parts strike against the resilient piece during transportation.
The resilient piece preferably is formed by cutting an outer wall of the housing, and/or the excessive deformation preventing means is formed by a cut edge of the outer wall at a back side with respect to a deforming direction of the resilient piece. Thus, excessive deformation of the resilient piece can be prevented by the engagement of the deformed resilient piece with the cut edge of the outer wall.
The mating housing may comprises at least one disengaging portion for resiliently deforming the resilient piece and disengaging the resilient piece from the movable member by engaging the resilient piece as the housings are connected. Accordingly, the operability of the movable member is improved.
An escaping portion may be formed in a surface of the mating housing that faces the movable member for permitting the movable member to be opened outwardly as the movable member moves beyond the resilient piece.
When the housings are to be connected, the resilient piece is deformed resiliently inward and is disengaged from the lever by the disengaging portion. Thus, rotation of the lever from the initial position is permitted. When the lever is rotated beyond the resilient piece, the lever is subjected to a restoring force of the resilient piece and opens outwardly. However, the escaping portion in the surface of the housing facing the lever permits the opened lever to escape. Thus, the rotational operability of the lever is satisfactory.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.